


but it was not your fault but mine

by seblandersmythe (Soll)



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dalton Academy, I call this the obligatory 4x07 canon divergence, I feel like I need it in my portfolio, M/M, also an excuse to wrap up some loose ends like idk, blaine having a family and friends and a life, foolish things like that, the whole sadie hawkins debacle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-02-10 12:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18660847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soll/pseuds/seblandersmythe
Summary: Once upon a time a young prince found his way back into his kingdom after a quest in a faraway land.He discovered:he had to share a room with a villanous but somehow friendly witch,he had not learned his lesson about telling his trusted companions he was off to another realm,he couldn't stop thinking about a prince that would give him a true love's kiss if only asked,he couldn't ask for a true love's kiss,and many more perils on his journey, one standing amongst the rest:to live happily ever after despite it all.Or: was it so hard to send the new yorkers do their own thing and give us a proper dalton storyline?





	1. your boldness stands alone among the wreck

Slipping back into the Dalton routine is nothing short of muscle memory.

His eyes naturally close a few minutes past curfew. His hands tie the nod of his tie without an effort. His feet know the way to every class. The strong, bitter taste of the expensive coffee of the cafeteria doesn't make his tongue curl even after a year of a the washed out Lima Bean's blend.

It's easy to forge new habits, too. He sits with Jeff at the cafeteria for breakfast instead of David and Wes, and Trent showers him in messy notes that at least give him an idea of what topic have been handled in class. Classes are tough, so he holes up in the library, Thad supplying him with moral support as he recognizes the sign of the trusted Dalton study method, made of energy drinks and prayers. Nick doesn't join him at breakfast or at the library yet, but they share small smiles when their eyes meet.

Even if he didn't have so much to study, he'd still find a way to go to his room only to sleep. He actively tries his best to ignore Hunter. He sticks his headphones in his ears and turn the music up whenever they are both in their room and ignores every attempt at a conversation. The only thing he likes about Hunter is his cat. Mr. Puss is fluffy, loving and curls up against him every other night, purring as he knits his paws on Blaine's stomach. The cat can stay. Blaine would prefer Hunter didn't. He's full of himself, preachy, arrogant and he actually takes himself seriously. Hunter might be talented, but he's not the kind of person freshmen ask for help.

Sebastian is.

Blaine only looks when Sebastian is busy.

When he's called to the blackboard to solve an equation, when he jokes around with his team mates at lunch, when Warbler practice is over and some new birds flock around him and he spares some time to help.

Blaine looks at Sebastian's shoulders, a little less arrogant, and he looks at his legs, still running a mile long, and tries his best not to look him in the eyes.

. 

He's reading about the Russian Revolution when Nick and Jeff find him Saturday morning in the dorm study hall. Blaine doesn't miss the little nudge Jeff gives Nick as an encouragement, but he doesn't mind it. He knows they will need time to go back to what they used to be.

Blaine doesn't force a bigger smile than the almost shy one that comes to his lips- he doesn't want anything between him and Nick not to be genuine.

"Hey." Nick says, lips tight but friendly eyes. "You up for a Smash slaughter tonight?"

Blaine trips on a _of course_. His eyes fall to his books.

"I shouldn't." he sighs, and Nick picks up one of his notebooks.

"I mean, you can bring your boyfriends too as long as you don't get too frisky."

Blaine laughs and nods, and Nick's smile is a gift he's not sure he deserves.

"I'll be there. Without books too, if I can catch up in World History."

Nick clicks his tongue. It's never a good sign.

"You should ask Sebastian for his notes."

It's not an advice. Not when Nick knows Blaine is perfectly aware how much of a nerd Sebastian can be about history,

It's a nudge not unlike the one Jeff gave Nick.

Had it been anyone else, Blaine would have nodded and hummed and told them he'd think about it- but it's Nick, so he lets his gaze drop, his fingers skimming one corner of his book.

A heartbeat of silence follows.

"Whatever. Be ready to be obliterated by Ness' PK fire tonight."

Fire is back in Blaine's veins as he looks up and squints.

"Ah. I think not."

There's a comeback on Nick's lips, but it never makes it out of his mouth.

Blaine imagines it would be a nod to things changing while he wasn't there, or a line about public school not taking the fight out of him after all, and Blaine is thankful Nick doesn't say anything.

Blaine's not quite there yet.

"We'll see." he says simply, and they share a smile before Nick walks away.

Blaine watches him join Jeff once again, and when he drops his gaze back to his book he finds himself smiling.

. 

Blaine goes for a quick run before lunch. His head is cloudy from studying and his arms are shore for the excessive boxing work-outs that Blaine now fits in the fortyfive minutes that driving to McKinley would have taken him. Running helps him clear his head, his heels pushing on the concrete as he runs a familiar path around campus, circling the school building, the dorms, and the sport courts down the block.

A small coffee shop has opened on the way there the year before, all the sports team falling into the habit of hanging there for breakfast after morning practice. Blaine remembers Sebastian telling him about it one morning, back when they used to talk about nothing all day.

He passes by the coffee shop for the first time, and what harm could be there in checking it out. Blaine's curious, breakfast at the coffee shop a piece of life at Dalton he never experienced. He takes his right earphone out before pushing the door open.

It's warm, and cozy, and there's not two tables alike. Books are scattered around and there's heavy tapestry on the walls, but bright modern lights hang from the ceiling. It's hectic and Blaine can't tell if he likes it or finds it a bit too hipster.

He'd maybe figure it out if he wasn't distracted, Sebastian standing in the middle of the coffee shop, a white and brown paper cup in hand.

Sebastian's not wearing his uniform but a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a white button down that make him look like a good christian boy showing up to a college party he wasn't invited to.

"I will warn you-" Sebastian says, a warm familiar drawl. "the coffee sucks."

Blaine looks down and fidgets with the cord of his earphones.

"Thank you for the tip." he says, his breath a bit labored from the run.

He goes to walk past Sebastian, but he sees his chelsea boots turning on their heels.

"Nick tells me you could use my notes for like, every class." Sebastian rushes out, like he isn't sure he should say it.

Blaine gapes and looks up before he can catch himself. Sebastian's smile is achingly sweet, his eyes soft.

He's gorgeous, Sebastian. In a way that hurts to look at.

"It's just World History." Blaine slurs, his lips barely parting.

"I'll hand them to you. You in for the Smash slaughter tonight?"

Blaine's stomach churns.

Had it been another year, another day, Blaine would have squinted and looked up at him and told him in all seriousness that he needed to obliterate Nick and his fucking PK fire since they apparently let Nick win so much he got cocky, so of course he was going, duh.

But it's today, current year, and all that Blaine does is ducking his head in a nod.

His eyes flicker away, desperate to latch onto something else, and he spots the last costumer in line getting his wallet out of his pocket.

He takes a step closer to the counter.

Sebastian doesn't follow.

Blaine feels his stomach drop and he turns to him.

"See you tonight." Sebastian smiles, tipping his cup to Blaine.

Blaine can't hold a snort.

"Didn't you just tell me coffee here sucks?" he asks, looking at the writing on the side.

"Yeah, well-" Sebastian turns his head to the side before looking back at him, and Blaine almost smiles. "Bad coffee is still better than no coffee."

"Hello, how can I help you?" the barista asks with a monotonous voice and Blaine doesn't look away from Sebastian.

"A medium drip. Thank you."

Sebastian chuckles, and it's so soft Blaine feels his skin crawling.

He can feel a little whirlwind in his stomach when Sebastian lines up with him at the counter waiting for Blaine's order to be ready.

They're silent, and Blaine keeps playing with the cord and shifting on his feet. He knows Sebastian's looking, and he lets it happen, his spine tingling.

Sebastian laughs when Blaine get his coffee and he grimaces at the first taste of it.

"Don't tell I didn't warn you, killer." he says, and it almost doesn't sound hesitant.

"Shut up." he glares, but he holds the door open for Sebastian on their way out.

They walk back to the main building side by side, the wind carrying the smell of rain yet to come.

. 

When Blaine finally makes his way in the common room, the party has been going for a while but has yet to take off. The pizza left on the tables is long cold and there's stacks of empty iced tea bottles Blaine knew where filled with disguised beer.

Shouts are coming from the couch, where the bigger crowd is hanging to watch Nick make his way undefeated trough a line of contenders.

Thad spots him and calls him over, and Blaine smiles and grabs a slice of pizza before joining the group. Jeff is keeping tab on the bets, while Trent swipes tinder profiles on his phone. Two sophomores Blaine isn't familiar with yet inform him he has missed a drunk strip tease by one of the football players.

He's laughing at a bad joke when Thad smiles at someone behind him, and Blaine turns and looks up, and up, and some more yet, to look Sebastian in the eyes.

He seems relaxed and laid back, a deep red Dalton hoodie thrown over the same shirt from that morning.

"Hi, killer." he smiles, and Blaine smiles back. "I believe I promised you some notes." he says, handing him a tattered green notebook, and Blaine cradles it with care.

He flips the pages, searching for something to speak to him between lines of neat and lean handwriting taken in lazy strokes.

"Thank you." he says, ignoring Jeff round eyes at the exchange, or Trent holding his breath.

"Now, for the other eight subjects I will have a box delivered to your home address." Sebastian jokes, and Blaine laughs and shakes his head.

"You're a dick."

"That would explain why you like me."

Blaine closes his eyes and gapes, a huff of exasperated breath leaving his mouth.

"What is it with you tonight?" he asks, and Sebastian looks at him, a smile lighting up his face.

"Mh. I'm having a good day."

"Are you, now?" Blaine asks, in mock disbelief.

Sebastian's eyes are bright, and his smile turns a bit mischievous.

"Coffee tasted better this morning. I was off to a good start."

Blaine runs his thumb on the edge of the notebook, his heart racing, ignoring the little bubble of awkward silence surrounding them.

His lips part but he's not sure what to say.

The irony of Nick being the one cutting trough the moment is not lost on Blaine. It's a victorious shriek, and everyone groans.

"Please, Blaine. Tell me you're still good at this stupid game." Trent pleads.

"I am." he says, ignoring the twist in his stomach at the thought of playing with Sam. "His reign of tyranny will end tonight."

"I hear you talking shit, Anderson." Nick says turning on the couch, and Blaine looks down at him. "If you're that good, show me."

"I will. But since I'm kind person, I'll let you enjoy a whole night of triumph before I drag you and your name through the mud. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need myself a glass of tea."

Some hollering and wolf whistles reach him, and Blaine doesn't miss Sebastian's eyes running up and down his body.

He still hasn't decided if it's a good feeling, to sometimes have the impression he never left at all.

. 

He's nursing the peach aftertaste of his second beer in his mouth, sucking his tongue, when Sebastian sits next to him on the couch's armrest. He just leans in talking to his friend about lacrosse practices, like he hasn't noticed Blaine was sitting there. Sebastian's fingers tread nervously with the fried edges of one of the rips in his skinny jeans, and Blaine drinks some more and smiles, for how adorable Sebastian can be.

He pulls his legs up in front of him on the couch, crossing them at the ankle, knees high and legs spread apart enough that his left knee presses against Sebastian's thigh.

Sebastian shots upright, his friend looking at him with a confused look, and Sebastian tries to save it with a call for more beer.

Blaine loves, adores, how Sebastian seemingly has no idea what to do of Blaine these days. How his eyes linger but how quickly he looks away, how sweetly he smiles and how he bites back one liners, how he jokes and run away at the most innocent touch.

It's exhilarating.

It's maddening to know he's wanted, and how hard it is for Sebastian to conceal it.

He thinks maybe now he understands how Sebastian felt, Blaine reaching out to test the waters with his toes just to run away as soon as the wave washed ashore.

Blaine sucks on his tongue again, the sugary peachy taste sticking to his dry mouth and oh, how would it be nice to lick it off Sebastian's mouth.

. 

Blaine is well aware his thoughts took a turn for the worst somewhere around what he might have miscounted as his second beer and had perhaps been closer to his fourth.

It's like the alcohol took away the haze, stripped Blaine of all conventions and rationality, to leave him only with the primal want of anything Sebastian.

He's lying awake in bed since he woke up at eight am sharp, too early for a Sunday that hit when the party had barely began.

Blaine could curl up on his side and sneak in a few more hours of sleep.

Instead, he remembers.

Sebastian laughing with his friend on the other side of the room.

Sebastian's flushed cheeks after a beer drank too quickly.

His loud cheers when Blaine finally took on Nick one on one, Link versus Ness.

The friendly grip of Sebastian's hand on his shoulder in celebration.

How the imprint of it had itched itself into Blaine's skin.

How his tongue had burned to tell Sebastian he was gorgeous, and how light he had felt when he realized there was no reason to keep it to himself.

He remembers, also.

Sebastian's shy smirk when Blaine had leaned into him and whispered in his ear.

Sebastian letting Blaine drag his hand from his shoulder to his wrist, tug him in the middle of the room where a little dance party had broken out.

Running circles with his thumbs in the skin of Sebastian's hips as they danced.

The cotton of Sebastian's shirt brushing his mouth where Blaine lips hovered against Sebastian's collarbone.

Sebastian laughing in his ear, hands marking Blaine's upper arms and shoulders.

His blushing cheeks and his bright eyes, the shadow of a smug grin on his lips.

Thinking that's it, kiss him right here and there, he will kiss you back.

Never doing that, because he didn't want Sebastian to pull away, scared of dark waters he may desire to be in, but so clearly didn't want to fall into yet.

. 

Thad calls his name the second he enters the choir room on Monday.

It's a quieter matter than he was expecting, the Warblers officially asking him if he's gonna lead them at Sectionals. It's Hunter's annoying grin, Nick and Jeff rolling their eyes at the formality, Trent smiling brightly.

"Sure." he answers Thad's question about him leading at least one song. "If you'd like me to."

There's a pleased buzz down the room, but a hand is raised in obvious protest. It's a young face the arm belong to, a sophomore if Blaine remembers correctly. His blazer is a big too big on his lanky figure, his hair are a perfect wave and he has freckles all over his face.

He looks, somehow, like a mockery.

"Shouldn't he, you know-" he says, with a shrug and a smirk. "Audition? Like the rest of us?"

The silence is deafening and Blaine clutches at the strap of his bag.

He hadn't expected to have the Warbler's friendship back, or their respect, but he had thought he could earn it back by singing for them.

He had thought that was the deal.

Trent gasps on his left, and Thad mutters _audition!_ like it's the most absurd thing he's ever heard.

"But it's Blaine." Jeff says, sounding genuinely confused.

"Yeah. I know you all want him to fuck you- and I can see the appeal, believe me- but he did leave you for public school dick, so-" the boy shrugs and Blaine sees white as half the room snickers and the other half protests and Hunter is in the middle of it all facing Blaine, smiling smugly like he has no say in this, like he had not wanted him back enough to try and blackmail him into it. Like he hasn't succeeded.

"I will audition." he says chewing the rage down, his voice firm and his eyes locked in Hunter's.

"Nice to see you're reasonable. Let's just hope you're better than last time because honestly- you weren't all that." the sophomore goes on.

Trent makes a strangled sound that horrifyingly sounds like a sob.

Thad waves around before sitting down.

Jeff gapes without words.

Nick launches himself forward, but a hand comes up swiftly to stop him. The next thing Blaine knows is that Sebastian is grinning with a coffee cup in hand and it makes Blaine wince, fingers curling around the strap of his bag, because it looks like another time, another day, another year, another drink.

But Sebastian is stepping next to him.

"If you wanted to play this game, you just needed to ask." he says, and Blaine notices Hunter frowning a bit, like he doesn't know what to expect.

"You want to parade around fooling yourself you're better than anybody else here? Fine, do as you wish. But learn your value first and be smart about who you target. Blaine is the best thing that happened to this school, and honestly? Yall should kiss his ass for even standing here now. And before you delude yourself Blaine Anderson couldn't step up for himself, know he just shouldn't waste his time with worthless boys like you whose only purpose in life will be to become the personal whore of some rich closeted gay who'll be willing to let you think you're better than him until he finds a younger ass to fuck.”

Blaine doesn't remember when he turned toward Sebastian instead of facing the kid, but he can see Sebastian's smirk, his lips slightly parted, like he's ready for whatever answer he'll get if the kid is stupid enough to strike back.

"Wow." apparently, he is. "Guess we find out who's the first in line to get fucked. Got a crush, Smythe?"

"Congratulations for discovering the world's best kept secret. Now either sit down and consider whether you should invest in brain surgery, or go back to middle school where you belong if that's the best comeback you could come up with."

Blaine can see the flush on Sebastian's neck, and he smiles as soon as he feels Nick's low wolf whistle.

"Oh God." Trent sighs. "He's back."

"Go easy on us, Seb. It's been a while." Nick shoulders him as Hunter claps his hands and gesture them all to sit down.

Blaine sits next to Sebastian on the couch and presses their thighs together, leaning in as Hunter wraps the fight off. He knows when Hunter starts talking it's probably about him, but he doesn't really care.

"I thought-" Blaine says softly, and Sebastian turns to him with barely disguised pride. "-you were being nice." he squints, close enough to smell Sebastian's expensive cologne.

"That was nice." he says back. "I cut myself off before insinuating his mother was a prostitute."

Blaine shouldn't laugh, but Sebastian is close and there's a spark in his eyes, and his lips look red against his pale skin.

"Besides," Sebastian's mouth curves around the word. "He's been pissing me off for a while now. He's like the off brand version of me, it's unsettling."

"Oh please," Blaine whispers, leaning even closer "he wishes."

Blaine wets his lips as Sebastian's eyes fall to his mouth.

He closes his eyes when someone squats him on the back of his neck.

He turns to Nick, sitting on the other side of him, at considerable further distance than him and Sebastian are.

"Pay attention, Warbler." Hunter speaks as Nick shrugs.

Blaine turns to Hunter and he can't avoid thinking it's been a long time since he heard himself addressed as Warbler and didn't feel his stomach churn.

"It is too late to have a formal audition since Sectionals are in ten days from now, but-" he makes a dramatic pause, because if there's one thing Blaine has learned is that Hunter can't talk without making himself a Kim Possible's villain. "I suppose there would be nothing wrong if one of our soloist decided to step back after a particularly heartfelt performance."

It leaves a bad taste in his mouth that he'll have to steal a solo, but Blaine pushes himself on his feet.

"Well, I'm just in the mood for an impromptu song."

"Please, take the floor."

He drops his bag on the floor and straightens his back.

He wants it all. The attention, the thrill of having the Warblers voice surrounding him, the applause at Sectionals.

The moment he can hear the Warblers backing him up he closes his eyes, for he's home again, and this time he has chosen to be there.

When the song ends, it's a beat before the cheering starts. Hunter looks at him with a somewhat genuine grin.

"Welcome home, Blaine." he says, and Blaine can't help but beam.

. 

"Don't you even try apologizing." Nick warns him as they step out of the choir room falling a step behind the group. "Both of you."

Blaine looks up at Sebastian, and Sebastian down at him.

"Listen, it's a Maroon 5 songs, it's your birtright. I'm glad to step back. I'll lead next time. Or not. I'm happy to go back to the tenor part, it's been lacking dept lately."

Thad kicks his shin and Nick laughs.

Blaine stops objecting but it still feels like it isn't fair.

"Stop thinking about it, Kirby." Nick goes on and there's a look in his eyes that Blaine would be afraid of if it was directed at Sebastian. "After all you're the best thing that happened to this school."

Sebastian rolls his eyes, but knows it's a small payback for still leading a number at Sectionals.

"Shouldn't even bother wasting your time with us, really." Thad adds.

"Not when our only purpose in life is to become kept boys." Nick insists.

"Are you done?" Sebastian asks in good humor.

"No, let them go on. I like the part about you having a crush on me." Blaine says playfully, and Thad and Nick share a look.

Sebastian is quick to play his hand.

"And to think you had the nerve, Anderson-" he drawls, and a chill run down Blaine's spine. "to deny you're a heart breaker."

Blaine laughs, and if his chest and throat warm up in a blush nobody needs to know.

The problem with walking on the edge of a cliff hand in hand with a pretty boy, he thinks as he looks at the glint in Sebastian's eyes, is that it becomes increasingly harder to remember why you are too scared to jump in the waters below.

"I might need help with history." he says out of the blue, and it sounds like taking a step.

"Fun. History is my strong suit." Sebastian smirks. "Get by my room later?"

They share a smile. There's no reason not to jump anymore, if not an old danger sign off to the side.

"Sure."

. 

He's not nervous when he knocks on the door of his old room at nine pm. It's just weird, an almost comfortable buzz akin the one crawling on his arms every night when he walks past it at the end of the day and doesn't stop to slip his key in. He still has to adjust to the extra steps to his new room. It doesn't help he's in there just to sleep.

When Sebastian opens the door, Blaine is suddenly very aware of how he hasn't still changed out of his uniform since that morning and how he must smell musky and worn out by the day. Sebastian's out of a shower- his skin flushed by the heath, his hair fluffy and damp, his whole body smelling of soap. The white t-shirt Sebastian's wearing has a scoop neck that shows way more of Sebastian's collarbone and shoulders than Blaine has ever seen. His freckles don't stop at his neck. They're scattered on his skin, crossed with beauty marks, stark against pale skin and white cotton.

"B."

"Mh?" he asks again, looking up like he wasn't staring.

Sebastian's smile is devious and carefree, and it's a nice mix.

"Do you want to study in the hallway or are you gonna come in?"

"Yeah. Right. Sure." he stumbles out, and it's been a while since he's seen it, that adorable little smile that says Blaine is being ridiculous and Sebastian loves it.

"Please, be my guest in your own home." Sebastian mocks him, closing the door behind Blaine.

It takes Blaine one step inside for his stomach to close. It's nothing different from a standard Dalton dorm room, two desks two bed one closet, but the lamp on Nick's desk is a broken lava lamp that stopped working three years ago and never got replaced, and Sebastian- he swallows with a small smile- has kept Blaine's cactus-shaped lamp. Blaine knows there's alcohol stashed in the first drawer of Nick's closet, and that there's a stain of vodka behind one of the posters on his side.

Nick's side of the room is a song he knows by memory.

Sebastian's sounds like a reprise.

Lacrosse gear is thrown over a chair, there's hair mousse on the bedside table instead of gel, no sign of an alarm clock, and a crumpled mess of receipts covering a battered copy of A Midsummer Night Dream with sticky notes sticking out of the pages. There's a book on the shelf over his bed that Blaine thought he lost.

And then there's the cork board. Uncharted territory, all Sebastian's and no one else's. There's a map pinned on it, some photos, a couple of notes, movie and theater tickets stacked under the same pins.

Blaine sits on his -their- bed, and Sebastian doesn't stop him. Doesn't say anything as Blaine follows the outline of Asia on the map, taking in the states colored in with highlighters. Ohio, California, New York, Virginia, and then over to the UK, France, Belgium. Beside the map there's pictures, and Blaine tries to match what he knows about Sebastian's family to their faces. His mother Daphne in a black and white photo, his step sister Manon wearing heart shaped glasses and bright red lipstick. A selfie with Nick covered in paint Blaine has to ask about. But it's mostly pictures of Sebastian and his dad, a young kid with a toothy grin and a handsome man looking like a movie star printed over and over on photoboot strips, polaroids and printed photos.

The notes are mostly reminders from Sebastian to himself written in his familiar lean handwriting, underlined over and over and with dates going as far back as the middle of last year. Blaine flips trough the tickets careful not to unpin them, the last movie a blockbuster Blaine was fairly sure his brother was an extra in, and the last theater ticket was for some play in Columbus. There's a few single tickets scattered in between, perhaps of Sebastian's favorites judging by the Shakespeare abundance. Blaine's fingers stop skimming when he spots the familiar gray of the tickets issued by McKinley High.

One is of West Side Story, ink almost faded.

The other is brand new, bold black ink spelling out the title Grease.

"You came to-?" he wonders, and he's suddenly aware of Sebastian sitting on the bed, facing him.

"Of course." he says, looking at Blaine's fingers on the ticket.

"I was on stage for a song."

"The highlight of the whole musical. Besides, are you assuming I went just for you, Anderson?" he teases, looking at him.

Blaine tilts his head, a small smile pulling at his lips, and he fidgets with his fingers over his crossed ankles.

"As I said, world's best kept secret." Sebastian hums, and he could have made it flirty, could have smirked, could have made it easy for Blaine to wave it away and break the weird mood and start studying. Instead it's soft, smooth, a little shy even, in a way Sebastian's speech never is.

Blaine desperately wants to kiss him. To held him close and give him back his confidence which every press of lips. Let him know he sees him, he sees his efforts, he sees his smile, the care he now puts behind each sentence.

He wants to see him smug and carefree and to tell him with his hands that it's okay to be.

He wants to make Sebastian know he's there.

It would be cruel.

It would be the worst thing he could do, give him hope and something to hold on to, when Blaine still cries at night over a relationship that for weeks, months, hasn't done anything for him other than make him feel hollow.

It would fool Sebastian into thinking Blaine is stronger than he is, that Blaine is someone that could deserve him.

"So, uhm. I really need help with history." he lies, and Sebastian smiles to him instantly, standing on his knees on the mattress to reach the shelf over them.

He gets a textbook from it, and Blaine's eyes fall on his copy of the Treasure's Island.

"You have one of my books, you know that?" he asks when they settle next to each other, Sebastian skimming trough the pages.

"Really" he asks back. "I have no idea what you're talking about. What's a book?"

Blaine pushes his shoulder into his.

"Don't worry, I don't want it back."

"Good, because I wrote in it."

"Okay, now I want it back."

"You can't, finders keeper."

"Come on, it's not fair. You got to read my annotations, I want to read yours."

"Mh. I could lend it to you, I suppose." Sebastian says, and Blaine raises his eyebrows as much as he can.

"That's such a generous offer. I'm speechless. I'm in awe of your kindness."

"It was about time you saw what a considerate and giving person I am- stop hitting me."

"Stop making me want to hit you."

"Oh, so now you hit me and it's my fault." Sebastian says.

"Uh. Dhu." Blaine replies.

He laughs when Sebastian throw his pillow across Blaine's chest, and he throws it back, but Sebastian catches Blaine's wrist when he tries to get it back.

Blaine could twist his wrist and get out of his hold. He could, but he doesn't- it's a jolt down his whole body, being touched by Sebastian skin on skin.

"Weren't you here to study? You're a slack, Anderson. I can see why Leecher hates you."

"He doesn't!" Blaine gasps.

Sebastian lets go of his wrists but Blaine doesn't inch away.

"Sorry to break it to you. He does."

"He loves me! He always gives me a plus on every paper!"

"That's out of pity. He thinks you need the encouragement." Sebastian says to him, and Blaine is too shocked to hit him and can only gape at the audacity.

"How could you?"

Sebastian laughs, and Blaine's throat catch because he heard Sebastian's laughing over the phone times and times again, but now he's here, and Blaine can see the crinkles at his eyes, the curve of his throat, his shoulders shaking.

"Don't shoot the messenger. I've never said I agree with him."

"Good." Blaine says, but he knows his voice is wrong.

Sebastian notices and turns to him, the ghost of his laugh still in smile and his eyes, and Blaine knows how he's looking at Sebastian. Knows he's wide eyed and open and he's doing nothing to hide it. He couldn't if he wanted to.

Sebastian's eyes darken in the same fear and guilt Blaine knew used to be in his own eyes everytime he looked at him, and Blaine doesn't want it, he wants to make Sebastian laugh and be happy and look at Blaine like he does when he doesn't think about it.

"Blaine." Sebastian says, and it's all Blaine needs to stop hitting on the breaks.

He leans forward, placing a hand on Sebastian's thigh to steady himself. Sebastian's hand curls behind his neck between the collar of his shirt and his hairline, and chill runs down Blaine' nerves, his eyelashes fluttering as he gets close enough to be a kiss away.

"Sebastian-" he fumbles on his tongue, reaching back with his other hand to lace his fingers with Sebastian's and hold his hand on his neck. "If- I-"

"B?" Sebastian calls him and it closes Blaine's throat. Sebastian's eyes are dark, a ringlet of clear green, and Blaine trusts him. "Shut up." Sebastian smiles, and Blaine kisses him.

It's like waking up after a eight hour sleep. Bliss, scattered thoughts refusing to go where he wants to lead them, his body not yet awake yet aware of everything:

Sebastian's warmth, the taste of his lips, the scent of soap and the texture of Sebastian sweatpants under his fingers, the firm muscles they conceal. Sebastian's pulse biting in his own where they hand are laced together.

Sebastian nails scratch at this neck, slowly, and Blaine parts his lips, gently biting at Sebastian's lower lip. He breaths trough his nose and licks at Sebastian bottom lip, slightly chapped, and when Sebastian wraps his arm around Blaine's middle and thugs him close, Blaine laughs.

It's exhilarating, to turn unspoken dreams made up in the haze between sleep and wake into something real.

They part and find each other again, smiling and kissing each other cheeks, the corner of their mouths as they move around the bed until Blaine is sitting on Sebastian's thighs and their mouths meet again in a kiss that makes Blaine's mind go white, his hands buried in Sebastian's hair as he stands on his knees and bends Sebastian's neck back. He feels his back catching fire as Sebastian un-tucks his shirt from his pants and lays his flat palm on Blaine's lower back, large and slightly trembling, his fingers cold.

Blaine moans into Sebastian's mouth, and it's too much too soon and it's too little too late.

"Sebastian." he says against his cheek as Sebastian's other hand settles on the back of Blaine's thigh, his thumb drawing circles in his skin over the layer of his pants.

"Mh?" Sebastian hums, a little smug, and Blaine kisses his cheekbone, his temple, his ear, wraps his arms around his neck until Sebastian's lips are pressing at the dip of his throat.

He needs Sebastian to know.

"I don't think I know what I'm doing."

Sebastian laughs in a hot huff of air against Blaine's heated skin, and he smiles in Sebastian hair, runs a hand trough it, keeps Sebastian close.

Sebastian kisses his throat but there's a smirk in his lips and Blaine sighs.

"Well." Sebastian says and he Blaine thugs at his hair, tilts his head to witness Sebastian being stupid. "The cool kids call it making out. Not that I'd now a lot about it."

Blaine wants to roll his eyes but closes them instead, kissing Sebastian's jaw.

“Are you happy now?" Blaine mocks, sitting back on Sebastian's lap. The hand Sebastian kept behind his thigh ends up in front of it, his thumb brushing on the inside.

"Very." Sebastian smiles, and Blaine meets him half-away for another kiss, gripping at Sebastian's shirt until they're sliding up the bed, Sebastian settling between Blaine's legs, and Blaine doesn't hesitate to wrap his legs around Sebastian's waist.

Sebastian moans in his mouth when Blaine presses against him, dragging him down, close, until there's nothing but Sebastian around him.

It makes Blaine a bit dizzy, how kissing Sebastian makes him feel like he could do anything to him, touch him everywhere, and Sebastian would moan into it, accepting everything Blaine can give him.

"You'll figure it out." Sebastian says out of nowhere when Blaine's conscience melted into slow kisses and the gentle rocking of their hips. It's small and raw, and Blaine kisses him again, swollen lips slotting together.

"I don't know. I might need encouragement." he teases, lost in Sebastian's eyes and scent and heath, a hand brushing Sebastian's hair away from his face and keeping it back.

Sebastian chuckles and Blaine feels it against his chest.

He licks at a freckle on the bridge of Sebastian's nose.

Sebastian's sound a bit desperate as he buries his face back against Blaine's neck.

"Blaine." he says again, his vowels a bit too long as they always are, and Blaine starts to think it almost starts to sounds like the things Sebastian would tell him if he didn't want to scare him away.

He kisses Sebastian hair.

Maybe it wasn't the fall he should have been worrying about, but instead about how to stay afloat once they would hit the water and would be lost at sea.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, they kissed at the end of the first chapter.  
> turns out falling was easy, swimming will take some lesson.  
> (no but really, lots of topic to tackle in this journey and why throw a will they/won't they dynamic when "timid attempt at a relationship where the stakes are very high and the blood flows very low" is so more rewarding in the short and long haul).
> 
> coming up next, the raise of the villanous witch:  
>  _"Tell me about him. Tell me how you broke him."_
> 
> (also feel free to stumble over at seblanclersmythe on tumblr, it's the perfect place to nag me if I don't update. which for a while shouldn't be a problem since I have five chapters ready but still)


	2. you know that you have seen this all before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so, here's what you missed on glee:  
> blaine got blackmailed into transfering back to Dalton and he accepted before sam could talk him out of it, and now he's got studying to do, beer to drink, videogames to play, competitions to win and a boy to kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me? updating? PROPESTEROUS

It is remarkably easy to be around Sebastian now that Blaine knows how his mouth tastes.

The cliff is far above them now, the fear of the fall gone and replaced by the small rocking of waves around them. It's easier to tease, easier to smile, easier to laugh.

It's easier to steal a cookie from Sebastian's pile in the morning, it's easier to sit next to him on the couch to play Mario Kart, it's easier to look at him and smile.

It's easier, Blaine thinks when Sebastian puts a leg over his own, eyes still glued to the screen, to be Sebastian's friend.

.

His foolproof plan to avoid Hunter for the day includes, but is not limited to, extra dance rehearsals with Jeff, helping the freshmen getting comfortable with the improvised harmonies, and holing himself up in the library trying to catch up on at least one subject. He is in the middle of a geometry demonstration when his plan crumbles miserably.

Hunter crosses the library in his Dalton sweater and ridiculous posture, and sits down in front of Blaine. Without books, or a bag.

"May I have a few words with you?"

"I'm studying."

"It won't take long."

"If I say no, will you wake me up tomorrow morning at four o'clock?"

"I see you understand how a great mind work."

Blaine is very close to throw a book at his face, but he doesn't want to break the golden rule of Dalton within days of being back.

"What do you want, Hunter?"

"I've been told you and Sebastian have- history." he leans over the desk and Blaine really, really wants to hit him.

"We do."

"Of course I've heard the story from Duval-" Traitor. "And I've studied your case extensively" Creepy. "But I'm interested in your take."

"Tempting. No." Blaine smiles, looking down at his book.

Hunter drags it across from him and Blaine breaths trough his teeth.

"You see, Blaine, I'm the captain of the Warblers. I need to know where your alliances lay."

"You don't need my take for that. I'm with Sebastian."

"Yeah, but you see, that's what interesting. Sebastian is not an alternative to me. But you seem to think he is."

Blaine narrows his eyes.

"Care to elaborate?"

"He's smart. He's efficient. He deals well with the freshmen, he's good enough of a friend with the others and helps me relate to them as I couldn't do on my own. But he's in my court. He's one of my men."

The notion is vastly absurd for many different reasons. Blaine only narrows his eyes.

"I pinned him down as lacking the drive and the spirit to be a leader-" Blaine is going to punch him. Not now, but he's going to. "I'm going to be honest, I thought his miraculous ascent to power last year was a fortunate coincidence of the Warbler lacking not only their star- you- but also many of their senior members. They were desperate to latch onto anything with talent, and lacked a personality in their ranks.”

"Where are you going with this?"

"But-" Hunter continues like Blaine hasn't even spoken. "Yesterday. At the meeting. Boy got some spine. I've heard stories about his vicious tongue used to humiliate the passerby, but I did think it was mostly legends. Seems like he's nestling some secret."

"Why are you here?"

"So I told myself." Blaine crumples a notebook page in his hand. "Could it be that bringing back Blaine Anderson could also bring back Sebastian Smythe?"

"You know nothing about him."

"That's why I'm here. Tell me about him. Tell me how you broke him."

"Go away." Blaine tells him, his voice firm and a perfect pitch, his heart in his throat. "You're not getting anything out of me. In fact, why hasn't he told you all about it since he's one of your men?"

"Mh." Hunter hums, looking up and down like he's assessing him. "You're interesting."

"You're not." Blaine tells him. "Go."

Hunter smiles, and Blaine stares as he stands making a scene out of it, like they're on a stage.

His blood boils and his jaw is clenched, because he knows Hunter's right.

A string broke in Sebastian last year between the slushie and Karofsky's suicide attempt, and Sebastian hasn't quite found his tune again.

It's easy for Blaine to see, because he's got a brokens strings or two for himself too.

.

He asks Nick when Sebastian is usually back from lacrosse practice and he waits for him in the hallway.

"I've got plan for us tonight." he tells Sebastian at nine and ten pm, when he walks down the hallway from the shower to his room.

It's difficult not to think how he licked lines between the beauty marks on his chest.

"A bit forward, but I'll take it." Sebastian teases, and Blaine focuses again on his face.

"Come with me." he says, hands in the pockets of his sweatpants.

They're wearing the same clothes, Blaine realizes as they walk down a path they both know. They do every day, now, but it feels different when it's not the Dalton blazer.

"You do remember we have a curfew, right?" Sebastian asks besides him.

"Come on." he smiles. "Live a little." he looks up at him trough his eyelashes, and Sebastian shakes his head.

"Back a week and you're already a bad influence. This places does you good."

"It does." Blaine admits, opening the door to the old music room people use to play board games in.

"Are we playing scrabbles?" Sebastian asks feigning distaste. Blaine loves how childish he can be, how casually he tries to play it cool.

"Sadly, no." Blaine says walking to the piano. "We're singing."

"Are we?" Sebastian asks, suspicious, but there's a smile on his face as Blaine presses on a key.

"Mh-mh." he nods, before starting to play the song. He picks up intensity right away, his fingers moving without faltering, like they always do when they're working a keyboard.

"Weep little lion man, you're not as brave as you were at the start-"

He means every line, every word, every vowel he's singing, and he pours his anger into it.

He needs to wake up. And so does Sebastian.

When he joins over the chorus, Blaine looks at him, leaning against a table with a face Blaine saw once before, and refused a second chance to. He puts the guilt in the song, he weaves it in the anger as Sebastian takes over the second verse and Blaine focuses on the keys.

He doesn't look up until he's singing long vowels to lead them to the end of the song. Sebastian joins him effortlessly, and it's their legacy as Warblers, and it's them.

Blaine lets his fingers go still as the song ends, their voice lacing together almost like they're holding hands.

They're silent for a moment, and Blaine opens his eyes not knowing when he closed them, and turns to Sebastian.

Sebastian knows Blaine is going to hurt him.

It hits Blaine in his chest, it gets him in his lungs, and his heart stops working before it starts to pick up and doesn't stop.

Sebastian knows Blaine is going to hurt him yet he's still willing, and for a wild fragment of a second, Blaine sees why- for heartache is worth it if they're going to make it trough.

The moment's gone when Sebastian closes his eyes, looks away, hides his face.

Blaine forces a breath in and out, and when Sebastian looks back at him and smiles, he smiles back.

"We need to man up, don't we?" Sebastian asks, his lips quirked up and his shoulders more squared.

"I'm afraid we do." Blaine says as Sebastian walks up to the stool and sits next to him, putting his hands between his thighs and stretching his legs. Blaine does the same, and they chuckle over the different lengths of their legs.

"Thank you." Sebastian nudges him in the shoulder, and Blaine leans over before he's thinking about it, pressing a kiss to Sebastian's shoulder over the fresh cotton of his shirt.

He lingers one moment to long, Sebastian still smelling like like laundry, and when he pulls back he knows they're gonna be okay.

.

Blaine goes running in the mornings, and walks back from the coffee shop with Sebastian shoulder to shoulder.

Sebastian takes Trent place in math class, sitting next to Blaine.

They hang around the choir room or the dorm's lounge, Sebastian skimming his notes and asking rapid fire questions, changing to a new one as soon as Blaine shows he knows the answer.

They curl up on the couch with extra butter popcorn cooked in the microwave and share a bottle of fake tea as they watch a trashy teen drama after another, Sebastian commentary so mean and entertaining people soon stop complaining they're monopolizing the television.

They play board games with Nick and Jeff, and the freshmen get involved when Sandy and Marti work up the courage of walking up to them.

Sebastian doesn't ask him to his room, and Blaine doesn't ask to go.

But he has a challenge to throw, so when he catches Hunter looking at them petting his cat, he tells Sebastian to come up to his room after lacrosse practice.

It's Blaine's room too, after all. Even if it doesn't look like it. He barely took his clothes out of the suitcases, and aside from hair gel and a toothbrush there really isn't much around.

"Do you actually live here or are you just pretending to?" Sebastian asks with his hands in his pockets.

There's a red scratch on his collarbone over what looks like a bug bite.

Blaine hates when Sebastian wears shirts without a collar.

"Is it all a rouse?" he goes on, a mischievous spark in his eyes. "Should I spread the rumor you haven't actually transferred back but you're just snitching?"

"I go to class every day."

"It's Dalton, you're rich, and you're Blaine Anderson. The teachers could be on it."

Blaine smiles and leads him to the bed with both hands flat on Sebastian's back.

He takes a moment before sliding them around Sebastian's sides. He holds Sebastian's hips and leans in to leave a kiss between his shoulder blades.

Sebastian turns and thug at his shirt, and Blaine follows him to his bed and on his lap.

"So, what are we doing in your humble abode?" Sebastian asks with a stupidly smug smile that Blaine doesn't doubt is genuine, and he kisses Sebastian's cheek before falling to his side, leaving only one leg over Sebastian's.

"Getting on Hunter's nerves." he says, and Sebastian's fingers stroke the inside of Blaine's tight.

"He isn't here."

"He'll be soon."

"Soccer practice?"

Blaine blinks.

"He's in soccer?"

"Yeah."

Blaine is suddenly aware he has no idea what Hunter does aside from lurking in the shadow and waste half on the oxygen in Blaine's room.

"Good to know. I'll avoid soccer matches."

"You really don't like him, do you?" Sebastian smiles, and Blaine shrugs.

"He's a douche."

"Me too."

"You're not."

Sebastian raises an eyebrow at him but doesn't stop skimming his fingers on Blaine's skin trough his pants.

"You're witty, you're smart, you know how to be nice. The only thing he is, is embarrassing. I cringe every time he opens his mouth."

"I find him kind of funny, honestly." Sebastian says. "He and his evil cat. He looks like an off brand Batman villain."

"The cat is fine." Blaine says, looking at the bump under Hunter's cover where Mr. Puss is curled up.

"You're the only person at Dalton who thinks the cat is fine. He jumped on Jeff's head one time."

"Cats don't like Jeff. It's a fact."

"He bit a freshman's hand."

"Must have petted him wrong."

"I can't believe you like the devil spawn."

"He's cute. And he likes me better than he likes Hunter. He has good taste."

He closes his eyes, head resting against the wall, a smile on his lips.

It's nice, to hear the muffled sounds of the hallway and talk to Sebastian like this.

"I love how smug you are about this."

Blaine smirks and looks up at Sebastian under his lashes.

He's beautiful, Sebastian, all sharp angles and soft jaw.

The door opens and Hunter almost seems like a normal human being before he notices the two of them and narrow his eyes.

"What do I owe the pleasure?" he asks after looking them up, and Sebastian barely bites down a laugh. He doesn't move his hand away from Blaine's leg, still.

"Can't I have guests?"

"Of course." Hunter say, taking off his soccer jersey who Blaine never seen him wear before.

"Besides, I wanted to talk to you."

"Of course you did."

"We're gonna lose at Sectionals." Hunter says like he would say it's gonna rain on Monday.

"We're up against New Directions and some religious cult." Sebastian says. "We can just show up and look pretty, and we will win."

"Against the Mennonites, of course. New Directions? They might have a point to prove. Also, they tend to attract sympathy points- the ragged little team who reached fame and now has to start from scratch? They're gonna get votes."

"Marley's quite good." Blaine says, and Sebastian turns to him.

"As good as Rachel Berry?"

Blaine parts his lips but he's not really gonna say anything.

"You need something other than a good voice to own a stage. Without you, New Directions is a joke."

"But they're gonna try." Hunter cuts them off, still shirtless, and Blaine wants him to evaporate out of existence. "They're gonna have heart. If we want to win with a fun performance and technical quality, you have to be better than you are right now."

"You?" Blaine asks, crossing his arms.

"You have something to say about my performance?" he asks, and while he seems confident Blaine won't, he doesn't seem like he couldn't take criticism either. It almost sounds like a genuine question.

Blaine desperately wants to shut him down, but none of his problems with Hunter belongs on a stage.

"Good. I don't either." he says, before he tilts his head to Sebastian and Blaine breaths trough his teeth.

"You, on the other hand."

Sebastian raise an eyebrow and his smirk just curls up.

"You merge with them."

"Excuse me?"

"Me and Blaine are leaders. We take the stage. It's clear where one should watch. We do our thing. When you lead, you don't stand out. You dance like them, you move like them. And since they're worse then you are as a collective, you hold back. I don't have problems with the way you do things, it changes the cards a bit, but they can't make the most out of it."

Blaine's jaw is tight.

"They're not up to our standards yet. We're not as good as we could be."

"We're getting better." Sebastian shrugs and he's calm, so Blaine knows he's pissed. "You're asking more from them than I did last year, and we haven't really performed since we lost Regionals. We need time."

"We don't have time." Hunter says. "Not if we're up against fan favorite's New Direction. We're good enough to be the villain, but not enough to make people ashamed of voting sympathy over talent."

"We got unlucky in the draft and you know how much it pisses me off. But there's not much we can do about it." Sebastian drawls. "Unless they taught you magic tricks in military school to bend time to your will."

"Keep the attitude. I like it." Hunter points at him, and Sebastian frowns. "And in a way, I do." he nurses the word and looks between them, and Blaine is sure whatever he's going to say it's gonna make Blaine snap. "I might have a little outside help to make them better without needing time."

Blaine doesn't want to understand what Hunter is saying.

The knowledge forms in his brain and doesn't reach the rest of his body.

"You want to drug them." Sebastian says.

"Now, that's a big word. I just want to help them to be the best version of themselves."

"You're insane." Blaine hears himself saying.

"You might be worst than the cat." Sebastian smiles, and Blaine would laugh if he wasn't dissociating.

"I expected reticence from Blaine, sure, but you, Smythe? I've heard a thing or two."

"I've changed my hand, Hunter. I don't play with the same cards anymore. Besides I've always been more of a fan of hindering the opponent."

"And now we'd be helping ourselves. Not everyone, even. Just evening out our potential."

"I can't believe we're talking about this." Blaine says, a hand to his eyes.

He needs to get out of there.

"We could get kicked out of the competition."

"They don't test, Smythe. And if they did, I'd think Dalton could pay his way out of it."

"You've talked to the principal about this?" Blaine asks, and he doesn't want an answer.

"Not in details, but we did talk about using every mean we could to get back our name. Your name. He's very hungry for a trophy."

Blaine walks out before he can hear anything else. He doesn't want to know anything about it.

He should be laughing, really. It's ridiculous.

He runs to the old music room. When his legs twitch to kick a chair down he realizes he should have gone for the gym.

He run his hand trough his hair and winces when it comes off sticky with gel.

He rubs his fingers together and tries to make sense of it all.

Breath in, Hunter is an idiot.

Breath out, Hunter is an idiot.

"B?"

Breath in, Sebastian is an idiot too.

"Are you just going to let him do it?" he snaps, hands on his hips, turning to Sebastian.

He looks small, really, in his t-shirt and sweat pants, his hair mussed- too soft for any place that's not a small bedroom.

"I can't do much to stop it. He says he run it with the guys already."

"What?"

"They're desperate for it too, Blaine. Not all of them, but the seniors? They've been biting the dust for three years. Don't tell me you don't at least understand."

"Drugs? No, I don't understand drugs."

"Me neither. But they've tried it the right way. Over and over again. Four years ago? Vocal Adrenaline at Sectionals. Then Rachel Berry. Then you left."

Blaine winces, bile riling in his stomach.

"You've seen them last year, Blaine."

"You did the right thing in the end."

"And we lost."

Blaine's breathing is shallow and his eyes burn. He blinks it away.

"You still did it. You might have got them in a bad place, but you came out of it. Don't let him ruin it, Sebastian. Don't let him take away the good you've done."

Sebastian hands stay in his pockets as he walks up to him, and Blaine meets him halfway.

"Hunter didn't take away the captaincy from me, Blaine."

Blaine's lashes flutters.

"What?"

"The Warblers did. I lost them Regionals."

"Maybe, but- you were amazing. You turned them into a fucking dance crew, Sebastian."

"Thank you. But it's hard to see it when you lose to someone who puts together their regional set list the day before the competition."

Blaine closes his eyes. His jaw twitch, and he rubs the back of his neck in the attempt of taking his mind off of it all, to focus on the back and forth, of the stickiness of the gel still caught in his fingers.

"They're idiots." he says. "All the upperclassmen graduated. I left. You're what hold them together." he swallows, his mouth dry, and he opens his eyes. "I lost them Regionals too the year before, they didn't-"

"You're different, Blaine."

He wants to melt into Sebastian's eyes. To melt and mold in what Sebastian sees when he looks at him, in what the Warblers see.

"Besides, you weren't the captain. You didn't take the decisions. You presented a case, and someone else decided."

"It wasn't a bad position to be in." he admits with a small smile, and when Sebastian holds a hand to his face he turns into it.

He leans his cheeks against Sebastian's fingers as he brushes at the corner of his eye.

His feet go numb, and yet he's never felt stronger on his legs.

"We're getting the Warblers back." he says, and Sebastian's hand freezes where it is, just as he started to pull back.

Sebastian's eyebrows gets higher and he stands a bit straighter.

"You're planning a coupe d'etat."

"Perhaps."

Sebastian hand leaves his cheek, and Blaine looks at his fingers as he brushes an eyelash away.

"They like him, Blaine. He's headstrong, he's ambitious, he knows what he's doing. He's given them no reason to doubt him. He wants to win as much as they want."

"They liked you too, Sebastian." he doesn't add, look at how that turned out.

"I disappointed them. And, let's be real, I did take everything as a joke. Including the Warblers."

"Maybe." Blaine says. "But you wanted it. You wanted to win. So what if you had a little fun? This is what it's supposed to be about. Having a good time."

"And that's precisely what they don't want to hear."

"That's why we're not telling them. We just have to make them realize Hunter is insane, and that they could get disqualified and lose everything if they go along with him."

Sebastian grin goes to Blaine's knees, and he takes a step closer. He's close enough Blaine can smell Sebastian and has to crane his neck a bit to look at him.

"It's the fucking roman senate, Sebastian." he drives home. "They're all waiting to stab Caesar in the back."

Sebastian wants him.

Blaine can feel it in the way Sebastian's eyes don't leave his own, in how his lips are slight curved at a corner.

It's inebriating, to know Sebastian isn't put off by Blaine wanting to take charge.

To know Sebastian wants him to take charge.

"I'm listening." Sebastian asks, and Blaine smiles.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up- sectionals!  
> will knives be plunged in the back of a wicked witch or will it crumble down?  
> discover it in hopefully not a long time since everything is already edited. cross your fingers with me.
> 
> i hope you enjoyed episode 1x02 of Dalton Academy Warblers, which you will notice i am factually structuring like a season! let me know if you liked it, i am an happier kermit everytime i check for comments at the post office during my work shifts ♡♡


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